Designing and implementing a business resilience (or disaster recovery) plan is a complex procedure for customers, and the impact of implementing an incorrect or incomplete plan can be significant. For some customers, being able to recover their data center functionality in a short period of time may be of the utmost importance; for others, recovering in a short period of time may be worthless if the data with which their database is restored is hours or days old. Also of importance is the impact to business-critical applications when copies of data are being made. This paper presents the IBM TotalStorage™ Productivity Center for Replication (TPC-R), a tool designed to help customers implement cost-effective data replication solutions for continuous availability and disaster recovery. We give an overview of TPC-R, describe recent enhancements to TPC-R that are available on all supported platforms (as well as those that are unique to the z/OS™ platform) and discuss the ways in which customers can exploit TPC-R to implement business resilience solutions, with a focus on the various trade-offs customers must consider when choosing between different storage replication technologies.

The mammary blood flow (MBF) and heart rate (HR) responses to standing, lying, suckling, adrenaline (A), oxytocin and 2-Br-α-ergocryptine were studied in four lactating ewes. Posture had a variable effect on MBF. In three of the four ewes there was an increase (P < 0.05) and in one ewe a decrease (P < 0.05) in MBF as a result of lying. Heart rate recorded while the ewes were lying was significantly lower (P < 0.01) than while standing. Suckling resulted in an average decrease in MBF of 39% (P < 0.01) compared to standing values. Continuous infusion of A at a rate of 300 ng kg−1 min−1 for 2.5 h resulted in a progressive increase in HR (P < 0.05) for 2 h of the infusion. During the A infusion MBF decreased transiently for 10–15 min and then increased thereafter (P < 0.05) throughout the A infusion in three of the ewes. In the fourth ewe, MBF increased to a peak during hour 2 of A infusion and thereafter declined. Exogenous oxytocin administered at doses [Formula: see text] had a stimulatory effect on MBF. Suckling and handmilking induced decreases in blood flow of 39 ± 6% and 54 ± 13%, respectively, after injection of 1 mU kg−1 oxytocin. Treatment of ewes with 2-Br-α-erogcryptine (a prolactin-release inhibitor) did not influence mean MBF while standing or lying but attenuated the negative effects of suckling and hand milking on MBF. Mammary blood flow in the lactating ewe is, therefore, sensitive to posture, suckling and hand milking but the response to the latter two activities could not be attributed to oxytocin on the basis of the present results. Key words: Mammary artery, suckling, milk, hormonal effect

Metabolic rate was assessed at controlled environmental temperatures in six winter-acclimatized mature Quarter Horse geldings. Within an environmental chamber maintained at 18 °C, metabolic rate was similar (P > 0.05) at the beginning (November) and end (mid-January) of the trial. During periods of acute cold exposure (6 h), metabolic rate was found to be elevated (P < 0.05) at temperatures below −10 °C, increasing to 142% of basal metabolic rate values at −40 °C. At temperatures above 10 °C, metabolic rate tended to be elevated (P < 0.07) over basal levels recorded at 0 °C. Thyroid hormone responses to temperature were monitored by evaluating total plasma T3 and T4 in blood samples collected from the jugular vein. Basal plasma T3 and T4 concentrations were both observed to rise (P < 0.05) during the experiment while the horses were exposed to outdoor ambient temperature. Short-term cold exposure within the environmental chamber had no effect on either plasma T3 or T4 concentration (P > 0.05). These results indicate that the thermoneutral zone of the mature horse housed outdoors during winter ranges from approximately −15 °C to 10 °C. During this experiment, outdoor housing did not result in winter acclimatization, as reflected by the constancy of metabolic rate estimates, although changes in basal concentrations of T3 and T4 were observed. Key words: Horses, metabolic rate, thyroid hormones, temperature

The performance and development of young Iambs housed at 0 ± 1 °C or 21 ± 1 °C were compared in two experiments. Despite similar nutrient intakes for both treatment groups, preweaning growth rate of the cold-exposed lambs tended to be reduced. Bone growth from 4 to 9 wk of age revealed a significant effect of temperature on metatarsal length (P < 0.05). By 10 wk of age morphological differences between the two groups were apparent, especially in terms of smaller ear dimensions (P < 0.01), head (P < 0.10) and metatarsal lengths (P < 0.05) of the cold-exposed lambs. Leg bone lengths after slaughter (13 wk of age) also tended to be shorter for the lambs housed at 0 °C. Organ weights measured after 11 wk of differential temperature exposure were similar for both groups except for slightly increased abomasal and thyroid weights (P < 0.10) in the cold-exposed group. Dry matter and nitrogen digestibilities of a concentrate ration fed to the weaned lambs were not affected by treatment, although nitrogen retention (g/day, g/g digestible N intake) was significantly lowered (P < 0.05) as a result of cold exposure. Key words: Cold, growth, digestion, morphology, lambs

Mammary blood flow was measured in cold-exposed lactating ewes using an electromagnetic blood flow probe on the mammary artery to monitor acute responses, and by injecting radionuclide-labelled microspheres to assess chronic effects. During a period of acute cold exposure (−5 to −15 °C; 4 h) mammary artery blood flow and udder surface temperature decreased markedly when the animal was standing; heart rate increased but rectal temperature remained relatively unchanged. Lying down insulated the mammary gland resulting in increased mammary artery blood flow and udder surface temperature. After a period of prolonged cold exposure (0 °C, 8 wk), udder size and mammary blood flow tended to be lower in comparison to values obtained from ewes housed at 21 °C. Mammary blood flow/100 g tissue was reduced for udder skin (P < 0.07) and teat (P < 0.03) but tended to be higher (P > 0.10) for connective tissue as a result of cold exposure. Calculated mammary blood flow:milk yield ratios were 664 ± 179 for control and 360 ± 110 for cold-exposed ewes. Blood flow was increased to the popliteal fat depot (P < 0.01) and tended to be higher to the gastrocnemius and semimembranosus muscles (P > 0.05) but was decreased to the skin of the thigh (P < 0.05) and lower leg (P < 0.10) as a result of cold exposure. The present results indicate that tissue blood flow redistribution in the lactating ewe during cold exposure is similar to that in nonlactating ruminants and that moderate reductions in mammary blood flow during cold exposure can occur without detrimentally affecting milk secretion in the lactating ewe. Key words: Cold, ewes, mammary blood flow, hind limb blood flow

The lactational performances of shorn ewes chronically exposed to a thermoneutral (21 ± 1 °C) or cold (0 ± 1 °C) environment were compared in two experiments. Heat production measured after 1, 21 and 41 days of cold exposure was increased by 20% (P < 0.05), 43% (P < 0.01) and 55% (P < 0.001), respectively, over thermoneutral control values. In both experiments, cold exposure increased milk fat concentration (P < 0.05). Milk protein and lactose concentrations were maintained in exp. 1 but tended to be increased in exp. 2 as a result of cold exposure. Milk obtained from the cold-exposed ewes was characterized by a relative decrease in short-chain fatty acid secretion (P < 0.01). Although milk composition was affected by cold stress, daily milk production was not significantly altered; as a consequence, total energy lost in the milk tended to be slightly higher for the cold-stressed ewes. The increased energy lost as heat and in the milk during cold exposure resulted in a net energy deficit throughout most of the experimental period. The present data suggest that the lactational performance of a ewe nursing a single lamb is not impaired by chronic exposure to an ambient temperature of 0 °C. Key words: Cold, milk production, milk composition, ewes, energy balance